Friday, 29 June 2012

This picture was taken at the Botanical Garden of Montreal. It is of an orchid, I don't know which one. I mentioned it before: my father grows orchids. That is his flowers. I mentioned it here. I find orchids beautiful, but in a sinister way. I think they look somewhat ophidian and spider-like. Those look like ophidian, like a bunch of tangled snakes with leopard coloured scales. They just struck me, they look dangerous, even lethal.

Thursday, 28 June 2012

I was just checking the cards in my wallet tonight. Among all the useful and essential stuff I had there, I (re)discovered my Waterstone's loyalty card and my Chapters loyalty card, which I bought in Ottawa. I receive plenty of promotional emails from them, I barely notice them anymore. My name is mispelled on the Waterstone's card. That was to be expected, I guess. I once bought something from them and the woman at the till had said that Guillaume was the name of his son. She had married a French man. Every time I take my card out to pay something, I think about this anecdote: I actually have met a British woman whose son shared my name, she married a French man and she works, or worked, at Waterstone's.

That said, I go less and less to a bookstore. So I don't use my loyalty cards. I got the Chapters one not because I go there often, heck I hardly ever went there when I was living in Montreal (except once or twice, including once to hand in my c.v. when I was struggling to find a job), but because it reminds me of home. Even though I got it in Ottawa, of all places. Which is as far from home as it can be, whatever place you call home. All the same, I looked at these cards and I thought it was very sad: I haven't been in a bookshop in a long while. Sure, there is the Oxfam charity, second hand bookshop and the WH Smith's glorified stationary shop. But I meant a real, proper bookshop. I have loyalty cards, but I haven't felt like a loyal customer in a long while.

Wednesday, 27 June 2012

Wednesday is maybe the day I like least in a week. it is too... Too much in the middle of the week. It often feels bland, whatever the weather is, however busy or not I am at work. I treated myself today: right after lunch I bought a brownie from Café2U. I hadn't done such a thing in a while, mainly because I am always buried in work when the van comes (and it comes less and less these days). There was barely anything left in the van, but there was this brownie which was absolutely yum. I was glad I could buy something from the van, just because I think they are struggling. Which is sad, as every time I eat or drink something from them it is always enjoyable.

And tonight, I had as dessert blueberries. It is not quite the right season for them, not from my experience anyway. Where I come from, it starts at the end of July. Blueberries are a treat for many reasons: they are light enough for an evening treat, they are full of goodness, antioxidant and what have you, but they are also, and maybe it matters more than anything else, the emblematic fruit of my region. I blogged about it before. Anyway, it is fitting that a Blueberry eats blueberries.

Tuesday, 26 June 2012

This is the picture of the "old" apartment in Montreal, from the outside. The one I used to live when I was doing my degree, back in the nineties and then when I worked in Montreal after I finished my PhD studies. The first years I lived there, the roof was a dark, disgusting brown. Otherwise, well, it is maybe a bit modern for a building on the Plateau Mont-Royal, but it is, or at least it was, a lovely place.

I blogged about it before, when it got sold particularly. This picture was taken at the time it was put on the market. I miss the place a lot. I was looking at that picture and I remembered that I haven't seen Montreal during summertime in a long while, not since 2009. Outsiders imagine Montreal and Québec as cold places, winter land, and sure enough they have winters, but people forget that are four seasons in a year everywhere and Montreal is different in each and every one of them. It can be really hot during summer. For a "big" city, it is also green in many places, especially on the Plateau, as you can see on the picture. This is something I miss from Montreal's summers: being in an urban area yet not feeling its urbanity too much. I spent a lot of time in the center where I used to work (giving French classes for employees of video games companies), but there was always the Plateau Mont-Royal I was getting back to. A green haven in the city. So yes, I kind of miss it these days.

Monday, 25 June 2012

The title of this post is taken after the title of The Malayan Trilogy. It is taken after a poem of Tennyson (never read it/him). I might use a great title for a trivial post but... well, it's a great title.And it fits the topic. We are juuuust after the Summer solstice, which I mentioned here. The days are long, daylights start to be seen as early as before 4 o'clock and night falls only at around 10. As I am writing this, it is pass 9 o'clock and it is still light outside.

I am not quite used to it. I find daylights exhausting. They make it difficult to sleep and I never sleep easily. I am a night owl and summer is not a season I get used to, because around this time there is so little of night in a day. So I look at the long day waning. When it is sunny outside, like it is now, it is beautiful, even if I find it tiresome sometimes.

Saturday, 23 June 2012

This picture is taken from that photos file my dad sent me, and which I mentioned on this blog recently. This is a picture of cream fudge, I think it is the recipe which has Caramilk bars in the middle. I love cream fudge, this one is among my favourite because it is so indulgent. I have here a sweets shop that supplies me in cream fudge when I feel like eating some. The sweets shop also has lots of other things, liquorice and cream soda and, well, pretty much everything one can dream of in terms of candies, chocolate bars and pretty much everything that you used to indulge yourself with as a child.

But sadly, and this is the topic of this post, it will be closing in September. The loca sweets shop. The community sweets shop. For the dumbest reason: the rent is too high. Which is the reason why most businesses close here. And many have recently. I say it is a dumb reason, because the shop is very successful: they always have customers in, many families with kids eagers to try everything and parents unable to refuse them at least one treat, often themselves wanting to rediscover classics from their old chilchood: toffees, Hershey's bars, marshmallows, Nerds, etc. This is why I find the possible closing of the sweets shop downright tragic: it was not only selling pieces of happiness, it was also soothing nostalgia and preserving memories. Seriously. This is really sad news.

Friday, 22 June 2012

I could have titled this post "lavatory humour", but that may have turned people off reading it, although technically it is about lavatory humour. It is a sort of follow up to this one. I read/play Dracula's Castle. It might seem like a strange summery read, but it is not a very warm summer. Anyway, the book has plenty of humour of the dark kind. I mentioned it before. At some point, Count Dracula (played by the reader), adventures in the lavatory (I know, I know: not very dignified for a vampire, especially the Prince of Darkness himself) and reads the graffitis on the wall. It serves nothing in the purpose of the adventure, but there are some really good lines there. It gave me a good chuckle, in any case. I particularly like this one: "Mary had a little lamb... with mint sauce." The song was the first one I learned to play with a recorder. Here it is twisted into something very sinister. Anyway, good or bad, I decided to immortalise the jokes on this blog. Tell me what you think of them.

Thursday, 21 June 2012

I knew Anthony Burgess had written about Liverpool, I even read it in his autobiography years ago (which I read in French), but I didn't remember much of it. I rediscovered it via Wikiquote. It is a strange feeling, reading this after having lived there. I know he is my favourite writer so I am biased, but I think he is spot on:

"The view of Liverpudlians that they are a race apart is well-founded.
There is the unanalysable genetic mixture of a great port and also Welsh
from the south and Irish a jump across from Dublin. The speech is
distinctive. ‘All got your furs, love?’ cried the tram conductress, who
kept warm with a bit of moth-eaten fare. The energy is immense and
explains the gratuitous violence. ... Generosity could lead to violence.
If I asked a direction I would soon have a crowd around me giving
contradictory instructions. I would leave a fight behind and have to ask
again. ... Of all the British cities that deserve the curative
attention of the British government Liverpool comes first. The Bootle
Beatles were taken too seriously, but, in their modest way, they
exemplified the combative energy of the great decayed port. Guilt
pricked me when I began to feel a larger loyalty to it than to
Manchester."

Wednesday, 20 June 2012

I stayed one hour longer at work today, because there was so much work to do. I was actually asked to stay because it was going to be a busy day. But in exchange, I will have an hour less to do on Friday. I prefer to work less on Friday anyway. My Wednesday was long, but I didn't have time to get bored so the day flew by. Still, I was among the last ones to leave. The cleaning people had already started hoovering, so I said to one of my colleagues: "You know it is time to leave when you hear the hoover." I think it is a great unknown line. In a restaurant, it is when the chef starts watering the plants (true story).

On my way back, when I took the train, it was half empty. It was a different feeling, more relaxing in a way, even though I was leaving work much later. It surprised me, actually: I actually enjoyed this longer Wednesday much more than many of the shorter ones. At the station, there was a warm breeze and the air was just moist enough. It was the Summer solstice today, the first official day of Summer. Maybe this is why it felt all right. I am tired, but not in a bad way.

Monday, 18 June 2012

Today when I went to work, the train was late. By 40 minutes, or thereabout, because of a derailment. It happens sometimes, it usually becomes blogging material (like here, or here). Sometimes I hope they run late. Not this time. I ended up having a very busy, very exhausting day. I was tired. And exhausted. On Monday, of all days, especially in a busy time of year, I cannot afford to get to work late.

That said, I did manage to find some consolation throughout the day. I read a good bit in the train and waiting at the station, which I usually have little time to do. I love reading in trains and train stations. And when I finally went to work, I discovered that one of my colleagues had made a chocolate and... beetroot cake, which was absolutely delicious. It is an unusual mix, but I was not surprised to the slightest: beetroots produce a lot of sugar. I helped myself three times, once with my breakfast and twice after lunch, but I think I had earned it. With a nice cup of tea, it is quite a treat. So my Monday was mainly made of pain and suffering, but at least I learned the existence of a new variety of chocolate cake that was yummy. And I read.

Sunday, 17 June 2012

I blogged about this websiteback in March. It is now their third year, and since I commented on the post about their third year anniversary, my name was put in a ballot, picked up from this ballot and... Well, I won something: a free e-book, written by the blog authors. So this will be my first e-book ever: How to Write a Dick: A Guide for Writing Fictional Sleuths from a Couple of Real-Life Sleuths. The title obviously gives up why I chose this book over the other one (which I think I will buy anyway). But hey, in any case, it is really cool! And I didn't even notice I was participating to any lottery, I just really enjoy reading their blog. It is all the more enjoyable when you don't expect it.

Saturday, 16 June 2012

It is becoming my weekend lunch treat: the grilled cheese sandwich, which I try to modify and make more and more decadent. Two weeks ago, I had added mustard to it (more explanations on the post). Now today, because of the comments of my readers, I had decided to add some meat to it. A lot of people add ham to it, but I hate, hate, hate ham. So instead, I added chorizo slices to the mix. So that was today's take on it: two slices mature cheddar cheese, chorizo (all this and the bread from Marks & Spencer), authentic American mustard (ironically branded French's, but it is still an authentic American brand), Marks & Spencer's Cola on the side. I don't know it tastes so good, but it does.

Friday, 15 June 2012

Well, I do. And it is Friday and I didn't upload a song on this blog for quite a while. And I got this song in the head. I am a Philistine and I know zilch about famous singers, rockers or not. But I have it in the head, and I love Joan Jett's voice in this (and I love much more her take on it than the original version, is it only me or does her voice have more machismo?). So here it is, my Friday treat.

Thursday, 14 June 2012

During the last fifteen years or so, I have wanted to learn Italian without actually doing anything about it. I did acting, singing, but learning to have even a basic conversation, I just was too lazy to do it. My Italian friend (the only one I am still in contact with) has published on Facebook this nice little piece of prose:
"Domani sveglia all'alba! Ho tutto il pomeriggio convincermi della poesia nascosta negli esami medici di primo matino."

I didn't understand much, so I used (gasp!) Google Translate. It means something like: "Tomorrow I wake up at dawn! I convince myself of the poetry of early morning medical tests." It is of course a dreadful translation and I still understand little of it, but I love how it flows in Italian. I told her on the Wall comments about it, about the fact that I shamefully used a machine translation. She replied: "Tomorrow morning, after all
blood tests will be done, sitting in front of my cappuccino and
croissant, I will drink a toast to machine fallibility :D". This is good enough to be an aphorism of pure wisdom and a great unknown line. On a trivial side note, I love Italian breakfasts (they are unapologetically sugary and decadent) and it is the only place on Earth where I enjoyed drinking coffee (I barely exaggerate). But it reminds me as well that I should trust my own skills and my capacity to learn more, and then I would not rely on technology.

Wednesday, 13 June 2012

I have been reading/playing Dracula's Castle. I mentioned here that there is plenty of tongue in cheek humour and self parodic elements. While reading/playing, I (re)discovered one of its characters. I think he was inspired from the Hammer movies. He looks like he was taken from one of them anyway. It's him on the picture at your right, the man with the top hat (the other being a corpse). He is the Happy Undertaker. His name is Unimportant, Samuel Unimportant. He is an eccentric man, but he there is a sinister side to him, not only because of the company he keeps, but because if made angry during the adventure, he becomes a Funeral Fiend, some kind of demon/werewolf mix. I might upload this picture one day.

But even as an eccentric man, he has this dark edge, in spite or because of his twisted sense of humour. When the hero, Jonathan Harker, played by the reader, comes in the mortuary of the castle where the Happy Undertaker is, he discovers that the man is a member of a political party composed of corpses... "They sit in the Lords, so nobody notices the difference," he explains. The cadavers all drink lemonade, while the Undertaker has a wide array of alcohols at this disposal. And he explains why: "You don't think I'd waste good liquors on corpses, do you? There are limits even to friendship." There is reason to madness. Anyway, I found this text very funny and I wanted to share it here and immortalise bits of this witticism on the blog. After all, the book I purchased is now a rarity. Horor and humour is a cocktail often used, but its effects are very uneven: sometimes it is a great mix, sometimes not. Often the humour gets in the way, or the horror elements are so powerful they make the jokes distasteful. In this book, even with strong elements of parody, it often hits the mark, as it does here.

Tuesday, 12 June 2012

I discovered, at total random, that among many recipes my dad shared with us via Dropbox (where I now get more and more of my pictures for this blog), there was also a number of pictures of things he baked over the years. I mean a massive load of pictures. Many of me or my brothers as children too. So soon I think this blog will be covered with many more pictures of my past. And pictures of food (although I will try to avoid turning this blog into a food blog).

So anyway, tonight my attention went onto this picture. They are banana cookies, or "galettes aux bananes" as we call them. Recipe from the mother of my oldest childhood friend. it tastes more like banana bread than cookies, really, like all "galettes" in Quebec they are reall small cakes. They are delicious. Looking at the picture, I could feel the taste in my mouth. I cannot remember when I last had them. I usually crave molasse cookies, or those with raisins we had, or the one with the maple syrup icing. I haven't seen pictures of these ones yet. But some banana cookies would be great comfort food tonight.

Monday, 11 June 2012

I know, I know, I blog about the weather again. I am turning into a British man. But the temperature sucks! I rarely complain about it, but now I do because it was a cold, dreary Monday and it felt like it every minute of it. When I arrived at work this morning one of my colleagues said: "Don't you think it is a lovely day for November?". At least it made me laugh, and it deserves to be listed here as a great unknown line. I promise I will blog about something else. I just needed to rant about it a bit. This post is cathartic.

Sunday, 10 June 2012

I was just thinking about it: I am in the mood to watch some old black and white crime movies, some good old fashioned stuff full of atmosphere. I thought about watching The Big Sleep and I am very tempted to buy it. I read The Big Sleep in cégep, in its French translation (by Boris Vian), for a course in American literature. I never read it again, even though I read now most of the novels of Raymond Chandler (well, the majority of them). The movie, however, I watched a few times, the first time in cégep for the same course of American literature. It's one I never get bored of. The plot is a bit muddled up at times, it has differences from the novel that don't quite work, but there is such atmosphere! Oh and there is Humphrey Bogart. He does not quite look like Philip Marlowe, he is a bit too old for one, but he's got this attitude. And he's Bogart. I recently discovered the trailer on YouTube. I watched it over and over again today. I uploaded it here, because it has plenty of atmosphere too.

It does not feel much like summer outside, but since yesterday I got in a summery mood, gastronomically speaking: I started craving burgers. Nice, juicy, full of bad stuff hamburgers. I mean the real thing, not what I would buy in a fast food, but the bad stuff I would make myself, with Dijon mustard, mayonnaise I made myself, fried onions, a healthy slice of tomatoes... And dill pickles. So today I bought what I needed to make burgers. Except I forgot to buy dill pickles. Otherwise, everything is here, they will be close to perfection. It will be the first official burgers of the summer, and the first one I made in ages.

Saturday, 9 June 2012

The last time I read outside was two weeks ago. It was also the first time of 2012 when I properly read outside, not counting those few minutes where I read at a train station. It is one of the pleasures of summertime I prefer, one of the few that depends only of a sunny weather. And of a book. But the weather, after two weeks ago, became quite nasty. So I haven't read outside since then. Today would have been fine, sunny and warm enough, but there were workers busy taking away the tree that had been struck down by the wind. One needs a space, but also a relatively quiet environment.

Friday, 8 June 2012

I know posting about the weather is maybe a trivial topic, but the weather has been very impressive recently. There is nothing trivial about it, it has grandeur, epic scale and furor. It has been raining, sometimes pouring, and the wind has been relentless. It is the blowing wind that is the most impressive: a tree broke down in the garden here. Earlier this evening, I was waiting for the train and saw the trees nearby the track. Their trunks were thick, yet they looked like they were ready to break down. I am always impressed by such spectacle. It does not feel much like summertime yet. It is June, not technically summer yet I guess, although I consider June the beginning of summer. But it feels like a mean April or September. It is beautiful outside, in a nasty way. I would be lying if I was saying I was not longing for warmer temperatures. Still, the furious wind is quite a sight.

Thursday, 7 June 2012

I had noticed that bookshelves have been installed in the common room of my workplace. I was wondering why. Now I know, as there was a paper explaining it: it is a sharing book scheme, people bring books from their place they don't read anymore and they place them on the bookshelves. There are a few titles already, different subjects.

I think it is a lovely initiative, but I am hesitant to participate, for a stupid and selfish reason: I don't like to share books much. Most of the books I own, I want to keep them. The very few I will not go back to it, I am still reluctant to tkae them off my bookshelves. What if I want to reread them to check if I was right about them in the first place? And there is a question of pride as well: I can abandon a book I really didn't like, I can give it to charity, but I would not want people from work to know I own it. However, I will make an effort and offer some of my books for the scheme. I guess there are a few titles I can give away for a bit with neither suffering nor shame. I will do it because people don't read enough and this is a great way to get people reading. And I do believe there is not sharing more generous than sharing a book.

Wednesday, 6 June 2012

Picture taken from this book, showing Dracula decomposing after being stabbed. It's not a very good picture, but it fits the topic. I hope this arresting title will draw the attention of my fellow horror fans. Tonight I am feeling very much like an undead myself, being very tired after an exhausting day of work. So anyway, I read this bit of news about two vampire bodies found in Bulgaria. I have little to say, only that I had pleasant shivers reading it. Archeology is a fun discipline when you discover something like this. Had I been a child, I think I would have believed in vampires just reading this news. It gives an interesting insights about mankind's superstitions, makes old vampire stories a little bit more palatable. Cool. (And, for the record, I never believed in vampires. It's one of the few superstitions I never bought into. But I love them as monsters.)

Tuesday, 5 June 2012

This comes as no surprise: it was pouring today. It has been rainy most of this four days weekend we just had. I don't believe in karma, but this is as close as it gets to fate: this month of June is very badly started, unless you are a fish. If only it was a storm, a warm, even hot summer storm, with thunder and lightnings. But no, it is cold rain. I want to feel summertime, I want to be in a summery mood, of that makes sense, I want to walk in a sunny day and stop in a pub for a pint, or read outside, or do something like that, something I haven't done in a while. My mind is not in harmony with the weather at the moment. It's like a seasonal jet lag.

There is Springwatchon the BBC since the end of May. I have been watching it, but episodically and rarely a whole episode. I barely noticed it was back. There are reasons for it: I love British wildlife, but I much prefer it in autumn, so I am a more eager viewer of the brother show, Autumnwatch. I also think that starting the Spring season in late May is, well, late. Springtime is almost over with and it is practically summer. I had the same issue with Autumnwatch in 2007, which had started in November. it is just a bit too late to get into it properly. I still enjoy watching clips of it. And I still believe the team is doing a great work educating the public about animal life and environmental issues. I almost feel bad not watching it much. There is so much rubbish on TV, after all.

Monday, 4 June 2012

I knwo, it is the third (the third!) piece of music in a row I upload here, it is the third post I write about a piece of music. This is a lot, maybe too much for a blog that is not a music blog. But circumstances put songs or music in my head and I need to get them out of the system upload them here. And they are all quite enjoyable, each in their own way. Before I introduce it, a word on the picture: it was taken by my father, in Quebec City I believe. It is of course the Queen Mary 2. Neither my father nor I are monarchist, but we are suckers for boats and trains and other big piece of machineries that are used to travel. When summertime comes especially, my mind is on sea travels and sea adventures. As a child, I used to watch Moby Dick or 10,000 Leagues Under the Sea when summertime came.

So anyway, because of that dreaded Diamond Jubilee, there was some procession yesterday on the River Thames and The Sailor's Hornpipe was played by an orchestra. I remember this piece from the Popeye cartoon I used to watch as a kid. I didn't know it was called The Sailor's Hornpipe. The only thing I knew was that it was in Popeye. But I loved it all the same. So I decided to upload it here. it took me ages to find one interpretation I actually liked. This one has Rule Britannia at the end I would happily do without, but I really love the take on the Hornpipe. So here it is:

Sunday, 3 June 2012

I know this song from Eyes Wide Shut. The movie was showing yesterday and since then I have it in the head. It's a great rock song, if only for the beat which I love, so I decided to upload it here. I know zilch about Chris Isaak. I should know more. But until then, there is this song to listen to.

I have decided to go slightly against clichés for this June's Detective Tales cover (dating from June 1942). Last May I had chosen an atypical cover too. Here, we do not have a damsel in distress but a... man in distress. The hero is tied up, in the attic, looking very much frustrated, while the fierce lady, after climbing a ladder and entering in the window, is cutting the rope,s ushing the helpless hero. There is danger lurking, if course: the hoodlum at the floor below, gun in hand, ready to go upstairs. It is simple, suspenseful and dynamic. Commenting on those pulp covers, I see that there are at least as many capable, strong women characters as there are damsels in distress. Maybe the world of hardboiled/pulp fiction is not as macho as one would think. Or rather, because it is a hard, violent, dangerous world, it creates many brave characters.

This is an utterly trivial post. I am posting it because since Thursday I posted a string of serious or gloomy posts. Not bad one, but I thought I would lighten up a bit. I just had lunch. I made myself a grilled cheese and mustard sandwich. Cheddar bough at M&S, mustard is French's American mustard. I poured loads of mustard on the bread, then two slices of cheese, then grill it. The perfect comfort food. The funny thing is, however simple the recipe is, it is a new sort of sandwich for me. I have been making this particular sort of grileld cheese sandwich since two weeks ago. I discovered it in... Down by the River Where the Dead Men Go. Yes, I discovered reading Pelecanos a new sandwich. Sometimes one is influenced by the books he reads in the most unexpected ways. The grilled cheese and mustard sandwich is now my new comfort food for lunch. I recommend it. And I recommend the novel of Pelecanos too.

Friday, 1 June 2012

It is the Diamond Jubilee and Queen Elizabeth is everywhere on the news. I mean more than usual. We have a bank holiday. I don't mind it at all, but I find the whole celebration like the monarchy: absurd and anachronistic. My readers know my feelings about the monarchy, how utterly antidemocratic I find it, how sycophantic I find the press coverage here, how bloody irrtating I find the way the people of this country lose all sense of criticism when it comes to the crowned heads of this country. So people are going to celebrate this Diamond Jubilee and I am like I was ten years ago during the Golden Jubilee, feeling very, very foreign, very much like the republican I am. I know Canada also has monarchy, heck it is the same monarchy. But I feel so darn foreign to this all. In these moments I see that however hard I may try, I will never be British.